Gray hair update: 1.5 years and I’m getting the hang of it

It’s been about 16 months since I last colored my hair, and as I haven’t posted on the blog, I thought I’d share a photo update photo. My hair is now just below the shoulders and I haven’t cut off much of the still-dyed hair, but I’m getting ready to because it’s fading and I think it’s also affecting the white hair that follows it.

If I would do anything different during the growing process, it would be to have a monthly cut to get rid of some color. Ideally, I would’ve just cut off ALL of the color I could, but I’m not brave enough to have done it at once and just grow out super short hair. I really like my hair long, so the growing out process would’ve been awkward for me, I think.

I still get compliments and questions, but the people around me are used to it and life has moved on from discussions about my hair. It’s just my hair now, and only when I wear it curly/wavy using the plopping method as with the photo above, do I get questions.

I don’t use any chemicals outside of the curl product, *Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie, which I love because it smells so yummy and leaves my waves soft. I wash with baking soda and rinse with apple cider vinegar and once a week or so, I deep condition my with coconut oil. I slather coconut oil all over my hair, cover with a plastic bag (recycle everything you can is a future blog topic), cover with a shower cap or towel, I use the *Turbie Twist because it’s easier to keep on the head. I leave the coconut oil on for as many hours as I have free, sometimes all of a lazy, Netflix binging Sunday.

*Please note that these are actual products that I use and love. I am not a paid sponsor for any product).

So inspiring I’m 6 months in of being hair dye free! I started going grey at 17 and I’ve been dying it earlier. It’s liberating and terrifying embracing the grey, your blog and the comments added to your inspiring journey keep me motivated and empowered. I’m 32 this July and have shoulder length dark brown wavy to curly thick hair. My silver goddess roots are perhaps 4-5 cm now, I’m surprised how bright it is and I’m loving how soft if feels it comparison to my dyed hair. I wear it up a lot to hide the drastic line, I love the femininity I feel when my hair is long, the variety of styles I can choose with more length. Recently though I’ve been looking into a pixie cut, although my roots are longer than that style but they’re not long enough for a bob (the shortest I’ve ever dared have it cut) I’m undecided at the moment. I had blonde highlights last year in a bid to aid and soften the blow of embracing the grey but it felt fake to me so I dyed it back to brunette after a few months. I decided late last year that I wanted to love all of me and accept who I am, grey and good! Thank you for sharing your journey and being bold and brave, you give all of us women hope and inspiration. 🙂

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I'm Libby! I work in nonprofit communications, write about the randomness of life, share a recipe or two, and occasionally perform 6-second concerts on Snapchat. Learn more in the About section.